Pages

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Dad's Campfire Songs

Randy asked us to pick just one favorite song for this weeks Saturday night genealogy fun. Sorry Randy, I just can't do it! Music has always been a very important part of my life and I could never pick just one favorite.

My love of music is surprising because I grew up in a home without a radio. I used to love to ride in the car with Dad because he'd turn on the car radio to catch the news and sometimes forget to turn it off when the news was done. Mom would sing to us when we were little and my grandmother sang once in a while. I know all of the Gay '90's hits!

The only time Dad sang or showed any interest in music at all was around the campfire on our summer vacations. So for my Sunday morning fun I'll share my two favorite songs that he used to entertain us with. Picture us in a state campground singing these. I wonder what the other campers thought?

The first I have not been able to find the music for. The only place I've been able to find the lyrics in an old Boy Scout song book. Was Dad a Boy Scout? (Dad's lyrics varied slightly)

Once I went in swimmin'Where there were no womenDown beside the seaSeeing no one thereI hung my underwearUpon a willow treeDove into the waterJust like Pharaoh's daughterDove into the NileSomeone saw me thereand stole my underwearand left me with a smile!I don't care, I'll go bareBye - bye B V D's

This next one I sang to my kids and now my grandkids. They all think I'm nuts. I'd did find music to go with this one so feel free to sing along.

We'll take the legs from some old tableWe'll take the arms from some old chairWe'll take the neck from some old bottleAnd from the sofa get some hairwe'll get some hairWe'll put them all togetherWith the aid of wire and glueAnd we'll get more loveFrom the gosh old dummyThan we ever get from you!

7 comments:

Apple, I don't know either of those songs. Thanks for sharing these two songs.

When you ask what did we sing, I can't remember what we might have sung in the car. We had a record player at home and I still have some of the 78s, so I am sure we sang - Here comes Peter Cotton Tail and all the Christmas favourites too.

So I'm sitting at Panera Bread this morning, enjoying a spinach and artichoke souffle and a Diet Coke. It's a quiet morning. There are people around but not a lot of them. I'm reading my feeds when I come across your article. So of course I have to click on it.

I'm reading about your family campfire songs and I get to the lyrics of the first one. I was trying to picture your mom and dad and little kids sitting around a campfire and that's when it happened. I burst out in loud gaffaws... could't contain myself! There were tears leaking from my eyes and people were staring at me like I was from Mars. It was hilarious and embarrassing all at the same time!

At least I wasn't sipping on my drink at the time so I didn't end up with Diet Coke coming out my nose ;-)

Thanks for the belly laugh, even if I did have to walk out of the restaurant with people staring at me!

Janet - We sang all of the kids songs but I can't remember if we learned them at home or at school. We eventually got a turntable but the only albums I remember were a couple by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Christmas music was church choir and Girl Scout caroling and I probably drove Dad nuts practicing.

Jasia - Always happy to provide a good laugh! Now you've got me laughing and my husband is just shaking his head.

What a great post! We did have a radio and one of my memories is listening to my dad in the kitchen, whistling while he listened to the farm reports on the radio and cooked breakfast. Somehow your post brought all that that back.

I've never heard either of those songs either, which is a little bit surprising because between my grandparents and my dad, I've heard some doozies. My grandmother, too, sang me the oooooold ones--more from the roaring '20s, but old just the same.